


Love and Orange Blossoms

by Tigerstriper



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/F, Fluff, How Do I Tag, Korrasami is Canon, Marriage Proposal, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-23 08:34:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30052752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tigerstriper/pseuds/Tigerstriper
Summary: Follows two trips to a Tea House years apart. Korra and Asami drink tea together and Korra prepares to ask Asami an important question. (Very short and sweet story made for the Korrasami Valentine Exchange on Tumblr)
Relationships: Korra/Asami Sato
Comments: 1
Kudos: 35





	Love and Orange Blossoms

**Author's Note:**

> For Katleonardoart and the Korrasami Valentine Exchange. See all the entries at https://katleonardoart.tumblr.com/post/639801803491475456/korrasami-valentine-exchange?is_related_post=1
> 
> This story follows two interviewing timelines, differences are denoted by the use of italics.

Wind whipped across Korra’s cheek. Republic City was always windy this time of year, and the coastal fog that swooped in from the north added to the chill. Not that the cold bothered her much. She rocked in her shoes, she had finally found time to switch out her isolated boots for something lighter, and according to Bolin “much more fashionable” though she doubted he was the authority on the subject. 

As Korra waited in front of the small tea house she was shot with an anxiety that perhaps her date might not show. It was a stupid anxiety, after all, they had confirmed twice, once last month and again this morning. And, even if for some reason her date was unable to make their meeting it wouldn’t be hard to reschedule. They were both busy people, plans changed at the drop of a hat, for both of them, rescheduling dates had become somewhat of a commonplace for them, it wouldn’t be a big deal. 

Except it would. This date wasn’t like any of the others. Not that her date knew that. But just as her anxiety was brimming, a familiar satomobile screeched to a stop at the curb in front of her, and her infamous date hopped out of the driver’s seat. 

Asami was the kind of beautiful that could be overwhelming. It wasn’t just that she had long, mesmerizing legs, or had long hair that radiated in the sunlight, or emerald eyes that a girl could get lost in. Though Asami had all those marks of natural beauty, that wasn’t what made her stand out. Asami’s beauty was purposeful, she was able to take that natural beauty and add to and refine it in such a masterful way that most people, Korra included, found themselves awestruck in her presence. 

“Sorry I’m late!” Asami called, slipping her own heel onto her foot as she rushed around the side of the satomobile. 

Korra felt surreal as Asami, without hesitation, wrapped her arms around Korra and kissed her without a second thought. Even after years, Korra couldn’t help the sense of pride and awe, that this was her girlfriend, her partner. 

...

_Five years prior…._

_Korra leaned against the edge of the balcony, staring across the water at the city. She squirmed and adjusted her dress, feeling impossibly silly. She had been crying, which only made her feel all the more stupid. It was just one date, she and Mako had been on dozens of dates, and canceled on half a dozen as well. She was the Avatar for spirit’s sake, she shouldn’t be brought down by one little missed outing._

_“Hey” Korra turned at the sound of Asami’s voice approaching. Great, Korra thought, just what she needed right now. Korra cringed at the thought of anyone seeing her like this, let alone Asami._ _  
_ _  
_ _“Hey.” Korra responded, trying to seem normal._

_“You look nice, going somewhere?” Asami said, gesturing to the floor-length dress Korra had draped across herself._

_“Um not really.” Korra said._

_“Really? You’re not exactly the type to dawn a dress. Not that there’s anything wrong with it. You look nice.” Asami said, fumbling a little with her words._

_  
_ _“I- Mako was going to take me to some fancy restaurant tonight, but he got stuck at police training,” Korra said, leaning back against the railing. “Sorry, you probably don’t want to hear about this.” Korra added, it had only been a few months since Asami and Mako had ended things, the whole dynamic still felt a little fresh. Not to mention awkward._

_“No that’s okay. We’re friends right? Friends can talk about this kind of stuff.” Asami responded. Korra sighed a little, were she and Asami friends?_

_“It’s just, things have been kind of weird, with us lately, I guess I was kind of hoping that tonight could way for us to, I don’t know, reconnect? I guess my expectations got out of control.” Korra replied, sheepishly._

_“Well, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry he didn’t make it. And I know Mako can be a little difficult to communicate with, but I know that he loves you. He’ll find a way to make it up to you.” Asami said. Korra sunk back, feeling extra terrible._

_“Yeah.”_

_“Hey!” Asami perked up. “Why don’t we go out? There’s no reason you should let a good dress go to waste.”_

_“Really?”_

_“Sure! It’s been a while since we’ve done anything just us girls, and I know of this great tea shop that just opened downtown.” Asami smiled. Korra looked at her with apprehension. She and Asami didn’t hang out, not alone. But despite herself she couldn’t spend another minute wallowing in her self-pity, it was embarrassing, frankly. So Korra found herself agreeing._

_..._

Korra beamed at Asami as the kiss ended. All of her nervous energy from earlier had been temporarily quelled.

“Don’t worry about it.” Korra responded as Asami unattached herself from Korra. 

“I hope you weren’t waiting long.” 

“Nope.” Korra responded, only forty-five minutes, if her watch was correct, which it very well might not be. 

“Good, let's go inside, it’s freezing out here.” 

“Really? I hadn’t noticed.” Korra responded. Asami glared at her, before resolving to a smirk. It had become somewhat of a running joke between them, Asami having a tendency to chill easily. 

Korra laughed as she opened the door to the tea shop, feeling the sweet smell of the shop surround her. 

...

_The little shop was decorated with warm red and gold patterns, clearly drawing inspiration from the Tea Houses in the Fire Nation._

_A small, wrinkled woman popped out from behind a curtain that separated the sitting area from the kitchen. Korra had a sneaking suspicion that she was conspicuously overdressed as she eyed the other patrons. Who were dressed well, but not evening gown well. The only saving grace was that Asami had decided to wear an evening dress as well, either for fun or solidarity, Korra wasn’t quite sure. So at the very least they could look misplaced together._

_“Asami dear!” The older woman exclaimed. “I was wondering when you were going to come visit. Almost thought you’d forgotten about me.” She said, walking over to the two girls._

_“I could never forget about you Miza!” Asami replied. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to come by sooner.”_

_“Well ,you’re here now. And you brought a friend!”_

_“Miza this is Avatar Korra, Korra, this is Miza, she was an old friend of my mother’s.”_

_“Avatar Korra?! Asami I didn’t know you were friends with the Avatar.” Miza bowed deeply._

_“Well come, come. Sit down and I will get you anything you need. What’s your preference dear? Jasmine? Oolong?” Miza asked Korra._

_“Um, just tea is fine.” Korra responded, unsure of what the right answer was. Asami laughed._

_“Why don’t you just bring us the house special?” Asami said._

_“Oh perfect! We have a lovely spiced ginseng imported from the Zuihou region. I will be right back dears.” Miza said before scampering away._

_“Oh wow, I didn’t know you knew the owner here.” Korra said, feeling a little silly again. Asami was so well connected, and Korra was so obviously not._

_“My mom met Miza when she immigrated here from the Fire Nation, my mom was all alone here, and Miza sort of took her under her wing. At least until she met my dad.” Asami’s voice quieted. “So!” She perked back up, “When I took back control of Future Industries I gave Miza the money to open up this shop.” Asami added. “I hadn’t had a chance to come down and see it so I figured this was the perfect opportunity. Plus, Miza is a huge fan of the Avatar.” Korra blushed. She couldn’t help but be a little jealous of Asami. She was able to help people in a way that Korra couldn’t. Sure, if you had a supervillain to stop or some thugs to rough up, Korra was your guy, but most people had real problems, ones that Korra couldn’t solve with fighting._

“And what can I get you two?” The perky, young waitress looked down at them expectantly. 

“We’ll have one pot of the orange blossom oolong.” Korra answered. The waitress nodded, blushing while she did, before scurrying away.

“I wasn’t sure you’d want to come here.” Korra admitted. 

“I’m glad we did. Miza would be so proud of this place.” Asami responded. In the years since the tea house’s opening, it had grown into a blooming attraction. Even with its founder gone, the little shop had never felt so alive. It had expanded to a second floor to account for more guests. Every seat in the building seemed to be filled, and yet, the calm and peaceful atmosphere persisted. 

Korra fidgeted with the hem of her skirt, trying to ignore the item in her pocket, which was slowly feeling heavier and heavier.

“Hey.” Asami said, grabbing her attention. “Are you okay?” Asami asked, reaching her hand across the table and placing it on top of Korra’s. Korra smiled. 

“Yeah, everything’s perfect.” Korra responded. 

“You’ve seemed tense lately. Korra, you know you can tell me anything.” Korra felt a pang of guilt. Of course, Asami would have noticed her heightened nerves. The last thing Korra wanted to do was make Asami worried.

“I know, I know. I promise nothing’s wrong, I just haven’t had a lot of time to relax lately.” Korra responded, trying to quell Asami’s concern. 

“Well that’s why we’re here isn’t it? To relax?” Asami responded, either believing Korra, or more likely, knowing not to pry any further. 

The waitress came back carrying a steaming teapot and placed it in the center of the table, along with a small tray of Fire Nation treats. Korra picked up a small, squishy cookie and bit into it. 

“These are really good.” Korra exclaimed. Asami picked up a matching cookie and examined it. 

“My mom used to make these when I was a little, they’re a staple in the Fire Nation.” Asami commented before popping it into her mouth. 

“A place where cookies are the staple? We should go there.” Korra laughed. 

“We could.” Asami said, casually, snatching another cookie. 

“Could what?” Korra said, mouth full.

“Go to the Fire Nation. I think it’s time we take a vacation don’t you think?” 

“Our last vacation did get cut kind of short.” Korra admitted. 

“Have you ever been?” 

“Yeah, but I spent most of my time hiking a volcano, it wasn’t exactly relaxing.” Korra replied, sheepishly. 

“Well, then we should go.” Asami said, smiling softly. Korra had to admit it would be perfect timing for a vacation.

“Okay, let's do it.” Korra smiled brightly.

_Asami let out a shrieking laugh, quickly covering her face with her hand as other patrons turned their attention to her._

_“You’re kidding!” Asami exclaimed._

_“Nope! He was stuck to it for like a week.” Korra replied, laughing as she recounted the story._

_“Well, I bet that taught him not to do it again.” Asami cackled._

_“Oh it did. Although at the time no one else seemed to find it very funny.” Korra sighed. “Besides me and Naga of course.” She added._

_“Wow, I can’t remember the last time I laughed that hard. I can’t imagine what it must have been like growing up in the South Pole.” Asami exclaimed._

_“It was definitely different from this. Although, I don’t know how good of a representative I am. Growing up in the White Lotus compound wasn’t exactly the same as the typical So-Pole experience.” Korra remarked._

_“I can’t imagine.” Asami added._

_“It could definitely get lonely, The White Lotus isn’t exactly the most friendly bunch, and no offense, everyone there was sort of ancient, I didn’t see a lot of other kids.” She would never admit it, but in the short time she had been in Republic City, Korra had spent more time with people her own age than in all her life in the South Pole._

_“I’m sorry, that sounds hard. I can relate, I was pretty isolated as a kid.” Asami replied._

_“Really?”_

_“My parents always wanted the best for me, which meant private tutors and any extracurricular they could find, music, art, science, I was always practicing something. Which didn’t leave a lot of time for friends.” Asami looked down, fixated on her teacup._

_“Well, you’d never know by looking at you now. I think you could make friends with anyone.” Korra responded, laughing slightly._

_“I have to if I want to be good at my job.” Asami admitted._

_“You’ll have to give me some pointers sometime.”_

_“What are you talking about? You’re the Avatar, that makes you automatically likable.” Asami replied._

_“Or hateable. I don’t exactly have the greatest track record of pleasing people.” Korra admitted. She wished that she could say that since the fall of Amon she had regained some of her lost popularity, but it was a hard road to recovery._

_“Well it’s not your job to please people, it's your job to keep balance in the world. Sometimes doing the right thing makes people angry.” Asami said, and poured more tea into both their cups. A minute of silence went by, and Korra found she had nearly forgotten her earlier sadness._

_“Thank you for making me come out tonight. I’m having a lot of fun.” Korra said, picking up her now steaming cup of tea. The scent was soft and sweet, Korra would need to keep note of it for the next time._

_“Me too.” Asami said, picking up her own cup and inhaling deeply, looking thoroughly content._

_…_

Asami took another sip of her steaming tea. Korra watched as she inhaled and sighed at the citrus scent drifting off the cup. 

“This is really good.” Asami commented. 

“I know. It was the tea we had the very first time we came here. House special.” Korra said, sipping from her own cup. 

“You remember that?”

“Of course I remember. I was so upset about Mako standing me up and you insisted on taking me out. Even then, you always knew how to cheer me up.” Korra smiled at Asami. 

“You’re being quite nostalgic today.” Asami commented and perked an eyebrow, in suspicion. 

“I know.” Korra inhaled deeply, if she was going to go through with it, now was as good of a time as any. Korra reached across the table and grabbed Asami’s hands. 

“Asami, I love you.” Korra declared. Asami giggled slightly. “I love you two.” 

“I um, I know we haven’t been doing this for very long but there’s something I want to talk about.” 

“Okay. Korra is everything okay?” Asami asked. 

“Yes, I just. Look after everything that happened in Gaoling, I, you, I was really scared.” 

“Korra, I am so sorry. You have to know how sorry I am.” 

“No, no. Don’t be sorry. I just, I realized how much you mean to me. And thinking about losing you, it scared me.” Korra said. 

“Korra you’re not going to lose me.” Asami responded. “Korra are you sure you’re okay?” 

“Yes. I’m sure. I’m just what I’m trying to say, is I love you and.” Korra removed her hand, shoving it into her pocket. Locating the small object she pulled a small blue pendant out of her pocket. The dark stone glistened against a thick purple ribbon. Korra carefully held it up to display to Asami. 

“There’s something I wanted to ask you.”

...

THE END


End file.
